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The living room erupted into chaos—hugs, shouts, Jules leaping onto the couch and nearly taking out a cameraman with her flailing arms. Dad gripped the back of my neck, his eyes suspiciously bright.

“Both my twins,” he said, voice rough with emotion. “Both of you to the Bandits.”

I tried to process what was happening as cameras swung from my face to Gryff’s, capturing the moment for all of America to see. The Bandits. Not the Mustangs. Not the family team where our brothers had built a dynasty.

LA, not Denver.

Chris was the first of my brothers to reach me, his quarterback arms practically vibrating with suppressed emotion.

“The damn Bandits?” he growled, but the ferocity in his voice didn’t match the pride in his eyes. “Of all the teams in the League?”

“What can I say?” I managed, finding my voice, even if it sounded hollow in my head. “Their defense is?—”

“Horseshit compared to ours,” Chris cut in, but he was grinning as he pulled me into a crushing hug. “Congratulations, little brother. You better bring it on game day, kid. Don’t you pull any punches with me. If you don’t at least try to take me down, I’ll kick your ass.”

Jules launched herself at me, nearly sending us both toppling. “We’re going to LA,” she shrieked, as if she were the one who’d been drafted. “Do you know how many celebrities I’ll meet? ”

“Flynn, Gryff, how about putting on the hats and jerseys?” The Sports Network reporter appeared at my elbow, holding out the Bandits gear that had been handed to her. “We’d love to get the official shot of you two in your new colors.”

My hands moved automatically, taking the jersey, black and silver, and sliding it over my head. Smile for the camera. Answer the questions. Yes, it’s a dream come true. Yes, Gryff and I always hoped to play together. No, I hadn’t expected the Bandits to trade up. Yes, we’re excited for LA.

But underneath it all, a cold knot was tightening in my chest.

I felt Tempest’s gaze on me, saw the slight furrow of concern between her brows. Across the room, Gryff laughed at something Dec said, but his eyes kept darting to me, that twin awareness telling him something was off.

The cameras kept rolling. I kept smiling. There was a hollowness to it all that I couldn’t explain, couldn’t understand. This was everything I’d worked for. Everything we’d dreamed about. Why did it feel like I was drowning?

It was nearly an hour before the main broadcast wrapped. The cameras still rolled, capturing B-roll of the family celebration, but the intensity had dimmed. Life continued around me while I stood in the middle of it all, strangely detached.

“You need some air, son?”

Dad appeared beside me, his expression carefully neutral. But his eyes—they saw right through me.

“I’m good,” I said automatically. The same answer I’d been giving for hours .

“Sure you are.” His hand settled on my shoulder, grounding in its weight. “Come help me grab some drinks from the garage fridge.”

It wasn’t a request. I followed him through the kitchen and into the garage, away from the cameras, away from the celebration. The door closed behind us with a soft click.

“You want to tell me what’s going on?” Dad asked, leaning against the workbench, making no move toward the fridge.

“Nothing’s going on.” The deflection was instinctive. “I just got drafted. I’m moving to LA. Woo hoo.”

“Flynn.” Just my name, but the way he said it stripped away all pretenses. “You don’t have to move to LA, or even play football at all if you really don’t want to. I don’t think that’s what this is about though, is it?”

I ran a hand through my hair, dislodging the Bandits cap. “I don’t know. I should be thrilled, right? First round. LA. Playing with Gryff. It’s everything we wanted.”

“But?”

“I know it’s stupid,” I continued when the silence grew too heavy. “Guys get drafted all over the country. That’s the job. That’s the dream. I just didn’t expect to feel so...”

“Scared?”

The word hit like a tackle, knocking the wind out of me. But he was right. I was scared. Terrified, actually.

“Dad, I—” My voice cracked, and I swallowed hard.

“You can’t help thinking that leaving will break something,” Dad finished for me. “That you won’t be here if something happens. That you’ll miss parts of their lives you can’t get back. ”

I nodded, unable to speak.

Dad moved to the mini fridge, pulled out two waters, and handed me one. A strange mirror of countless post-practice moments throughout my childhood.

“You were six when your mother died,” he said, his voice steady despite the weight of the words. “Old enough to remember, too young to understand.”

I stared at the water bottle, unseeing. I hadn’t said anything about her. The night those policemen knocked on our doors and we found out she was never coming home. That was the last time I remembered really being scared.

This wasn’t about Mom.

But she had left us and it did break something. She wasn’t here when things happened. She did miss a part of our lives, and we would never get that back.

“You were broken,” I said quietly. “We all were. But you were... It was like part of you went with her.”

Dad was silent for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was raw with a vulnerability I’d rarely heard.

“You’re right. Part of me did die with her. The part that believed the world was fair, that good things last forever, that love is safe.” He took a deep breath. “But, Flynn, that’s not the lesson I want you to learn from losing your mother.”

I looked up, caught by the intensity in his voice.

“The lesson isn’t to avoid leaving, or to avoid loving so deeply it could devastate you to lose it.” His eyes held mine, unflinching.

The water bottle crumpled slightly in my grip .

“I’ve seen the way you hold back, the way you’ve held back with every girl,” he continued. “Your no serious relationships, only date a girl for two-weeks rule isn’t just about keeping things simple. It’s about keeping yourself safe. About never risking what I went through when I lost your mother.”

The accuracy of his assessment left me speechless. I didn’t even know he knew about my rules.

“But son, life isn’t safe. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to live it to the fullest. If I’d played life safe all the time, I’d be the guy who sits in an office eighty hours a week. I certainly wouldn’t have met your mother, wouldn’t have all you kids, wouldn’t have loved at all.”

He stepped closer, putting his hand on my shoulder.

“Your brothers aren’t going anywhere, Flynn.

Neither am I. Neither is Jules, or this house, or the life you’ve built here.

Denver will always be home. But if you limit your life to what feels safe, you’ll miss out on the greatest joys it has to offer. ”

“What if—” I started, then stopped, the fear too big to name.

“What if you lose someone again?” Dad’s grip tightened. “You might. That’s life. But I promise you, as someone who’s been through the worst of it, the regret of playing it safe is far more painful than the grief of having loved fully.”

The truth of his words settled into me, unlocking something that had been bound tight for too long.

“LA is waiting for you, son. So is the rest of your life. Don’t let fear of what might happen keep you from everything that could be. ”

The knot in my chest finally loosened. I blinked hard against the sudden burning in my eyes. “I miss her.”

“I know. I miss her too. Every day. But Flynn, I wouldn’t trade a single moment with her, even knowing how it would end.” Dad pulled me into a hug, strong and sure.

As we pulled apart, I saw something in my father’s eyes I hadn’t noticed before.

A strength that came not despite his grief, but because of it.

He had loved and lost and somehow found the courage to keep going, to raise eight children alone, to build a life that honored her memory without being consumed by it.

“Now,” Dad said, cracking a smile, “let’s grab those drinks before they send a search party.”

Back in the living room, the celebration had continued. Isak and Jules were arguing over the last of the nachos, which was so typical it almost made my heart hurt. I was going to miss this yes. But Dad was right. There was so much more I’d miss if I stayed.

Gryff caught my eye from across the room, a silent question in his expression. I nodded slightly, a wordless reassurance that I was okay. He understood, as he always did.

But it was Tempest I sought out, finding her helping Aunt May and June arrange plates on the dining room table for dinner.

“Can I steal her for a minute?” I asked my aunties, who both grinned and made a shooing motion.

“Go be all romantic and gross somewhere else,” she said. “I’ve got this.”

I led Tempest onto the back deck, the spring evening cool but pleasant. The yard where we’d played football since we could walk stretched out before us, familiar and unchanging.

“How are you feeling about all of this?” Tempest asked, studying my face. “You seemed... somewhere else, after they announced your pick.”

“I’m better now,” I said honestly. “Just had to work through some stuff.”

She nodded, not pushing, but her expression remained curious.

“It was about leaving. About what that means,” I clarified.

“Your family,” she said, understanding immediately.

“Yeah.” I leaned against the railing, our shoulders touching. “It all kind of hit me that the last time our family was split up was when my mom died.”

“Oh, Flynn.” She took my hand and brought it up to her cheek, leaning into it. “I can’t begin to imagine what that was doing to you.”

“Dad helped me see it differently,” I continued. “That leaving doesn’t have to mean losing. That distance doesn’t break what matters.”

Tempest smiled, soft and understanding. “He’s right.”

“I’ve spent my whole life avoiding the kind of love that could hurt me if I lost it.” I didn’t really understand that until right now.

“But then you came along,” I reached up to brush a curl from her face. “And suddenly two weeks wasn’t enough. Suddenly, I was breaking all my own rules. I was falling for you, and it terrified me.”

“Flynn— ”

“Let me finish,” I said gently. “I need to say this.”

She nodded, her eyes never leaving mine.

“I’ve been scared of loving you the way I do, because what if I lose you? What if something happens? What if it all falls apart?” I took a breath, steadying myself. “And leaving Denver for LA felt like losing you just when I realized how in love with you I am.”